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Brendan Taman wants the dust of certainty hanging around the Blue Bombers to settle by the middle of this month.

"To be fair to people involved, including myself, I think we have to have it done by mid-November," the Winnipeg GM said yesterday. "People are owed that, I think, but we have to make the right decision, no question.

"That might be a target that's totally out of actually what's gonna happen but it's two weeks from today. That's not necessarily too far off the date."

The immediate futures of both Taman and head coach Jim Daley are being questioned after a horrid 5-13 CFL campaign. And Taman knows he may have to fire Daley just to keep his own job.

"That's one of the scenarios I played out in my mind, I'm not going to lie to you," Taman replied. "But we're not at that point yet."

Taman was then asked if he has confidence that Daley can get the job done in 2006, the year that Winnipeg plays host to the Grey Cup.

"I would like to know they have confidence in me that I'm the right person before I answer that question," he replied. "And it would be wrong for me to say, 'Yeah, I think he's the guy,' when he thinks I'm a piece of (crap) and the talent is all bad. I have my opinions and he's got his so, we need to get that on the same page before I answer that question, to be honest with ya."

So, he needs to get the official nod from club president Lyle Bauer first.

"We will assess the entire situation and there is no timeline at this juncture," Bauer said after Sunday's loss.

But Taman hopes Bauer does not base his decision on public perception.

"If it was outside perception, I wouldn't have a chance in hell of being here," he said.

Taman expects all three parties to sit down to discuss the situation next week sometime. In the meantime, he has been meeting with all the players before they head home as that evaluation process has already started.

"We're going through the appropriate steps," Taman said. "This is the normal process that we have to go through. I'm listening a little more tentatively this year than I did in the past, seeing how our season's gone.

"I just listen. If there's a common trait where 10 different players say the same things, you know there's an issue and it's something that has to be discussed."